Ireland U-20 Team Tweaked For Scotland Game

Ireland Under-20 head coach Mike Ruddock has made several changes to his squad for Friday night's RBS U-20 6 Nations encounter with Scotland in Inverness.

There are four changes in personnel to the Ireland team that played against France at Dubarry Park a fortnight ago.

The fit-again Martin Moore comes back into the front row to link up with James Tracy and captain Niall Annett, while Michael Kearney also returns to second row duty alongside Daniel Qualter.

Flanker Shane Buckley has been promoted from the replacements bench along with centre JJ Hanarahan. The pair will be make their first starts of the Championship.

There are five new faces on the bench, including Tadhg Furlong, Cathal O'Flaherty, Mark Dolan and Colm O'Shea. Gareth Quinn McDonogh makes a return to the Under-20 set-up, having been involved last year.

Commenting on the selection, head coach Mike Ruddock said: "We are looking forward to travelling to Inverness and playing Scotland.

"We have a panel determined to do better. We felt we have not been as effective in our defence as we would have hoped and have asked players to look at that and for a positive reaction. If we can achieve that we will see an improvement."

The Ireland Under-20s are currently fourth in the Six Nations table, two points ahead of Scotland who lost their opening games to France and Wales.

Admission into Friday's game at Tulloch Stadium is free. Directions to the ground are available here.

The countdown is on to the Women's Sevens Dublin tournament in UCD on August 22-23. Anthony Eddy, IRFU Director of Rugby Sevens & Women's Rugby, previews what promises to be an exciting couple of days.

Tickets for the tournament start at 5 euro, with children free, and are available to buy here - http://www.ticketmaster.ie/Womens-Sevens-Series-tickets/artist/2134381?tm_link=artist_artistvenue_module.

Jenny Murphy talks about the progress made by the Ireland Women's Sevens team and their pool draw for the upcoming Women's Sevens Dublin tournament in UCD on August 22-23.

Tickets for the tournament start at 5 euro, with children free, and are available to buy here - http://www.ticketmaster.ie/Womens-Sevens-Series-tickets/artist/2134381?tm_link=artist_artistvenue_module.

Conor Murray and Tommy Bowe speak to Irish Rugby TV about their Rugby World Cup preparations and thank the thousands of supporters who came out to see the players at the open training session at the Sportsground.

Ireland captain Paul O'Connell gives his verdict on the team's new Rugby World Cup jersey and talks about his move to French club Toulon. Ireland's RWC 2015 range is available to pre-order now from http://shop.irishrugby.ie.

Anthony Eddy, IRFU Director of Rugby Sevens, talks about the target of a top three finish for both the Ireland Men and Women in Lisbon this weekend, as they continue on their quests for Olympic qualification.

Tom Daly, who recently captained the Ireland Men's Sevens team to the European Division C and B titles, is looking forward to playing in this weekend's Rugby Europe Olympic Repechage tournament in Lisbon, Portugal.

Ireland will host the 'Women's Sevens Dublin' at UCD on Saturday, August 22 and Sunday, August 23. Tournament director Garrett Tubridy and Ireland stars Lucy Mulhall, Jenny Murphy and Louise Galvin speak about their excitement ahead of the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series qualifier.

Coach Allen Clarke and stand-in captain Billy Holland answer questions from the media following Emerging Ireland's 45-12 victory over Georgia in the final round of their successful Tbilisi Cup campaign.

Emerging Ireland coach Allen Clarke speaks about his side's five-try 33-7 win over Uruguay in the Tbilisi Cup and the first half injury to captain Rhys Ruddock. They wrap up the tournament against hosts Georgia on Sunday.

Speaking about the floods that occurred following the Tbilisi Cup's first round, Emerging Ireland team manager Joey Miles said: "A natural event like that, a tragedy like that puts the game of rugby into perspective. We express our regrets to the Georgian people and the Georgian Union for the terrible tragedy that they had."

David O'Reilly from the IRFU Charitable Trust's Corporate Patrons Committee speaks about the new scheme which provides businesses with unique networking opportunities and provides a platform for companies to effectively activate their CSR programmes. For further information, please contact Linda Black of the Charitable Trust - telephone (01) 6473866 or email: linda.black@irfu.ie / http://www.irishrugby.ie/news/34728.php.